A trade group overseeing an effort to unlock corn's genetic code says more than 120 researchers have already used a Web database created to speed up development of biotech crops.The National Corn Growers Association said this week that the researchers, representing 35 academic institutions, accessed maize gene sequences catalogued in the database.

"There are only little pieces of gene sequences available in the public domain," said Jo Messing, a professor of molecular biology at Rutgers University, who has used the database. "The private collection offers a lot of those missing pieces."

The 8-month-old Web site pools research done on the corn genome by Monsanto Co., DuPont subsidiary Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. and Monsanto research partner Ceres Inc.

By offering up their data to researchers at nonprofit institutions for noncommercial use, the companies hope to develop hybrid and genetically modified plants that are more drought-resistant or can produce more nutritious corn or fibers.

The companies hope to sequence the corn genome by 2007, perhaps several years ahead of when it otherwise would be completed without the initiative.

Messing said the database now has roughly 1.8 available gene sequences -- more than four times what was previously available publicly.

Land-grant universities including the University of Illinois and Oregon State University have accessed the site, as have overseas institutions including Oxford University, the Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences and Germany's University of Hamburg.

The Web site is developed and managed by the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, a nonprofit research site near Monsanto's headquarters.

Scientists who want to use the database must register through the corn growers association and certify that they are conducting noncommercial work. They also must agree to provide license options for Monsanto, Pioneer and Ceres.

The companies will benefit from completion of the genome sequence at no additional cost. Government agencies and academic institutions are expected to foot the researchers' bills.

Researchers will publish their findings in scientific journals after the companies review the work and consider options for non-exclusive licensing deals. Each company likely would develop different products with various competitive advantages.(AP)

What exactly bugs liberals about bio-tech grains & veggies? They go off on conservatives for opposing "science!" when the topic is stem-cell research, then turn around and oppose science when the topic becomes bio-tech food.

ST. LOUIS -- A trade group overseeing a partnership to unlock corn's genetic code said Monday the effort has gained "critical momentum," with more than 120 researchers already having accessed a searchable Web database created last year to hasten development of biotech crops.

The 8-month-old Web site pools research done on the corn genome by Monsanto Co., DuPont subsidiary Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. and Monsanto research partner Ceres Inc.

By offering up their data to researchers at nonprofit institutions for noncommercial use, the companies hope to develop hybrid and genetically modified plants that are more drought-resistant or can produce more nutritious corn or fibers.

The goal: Sequence the corn genome by 2007, perhaps several years ahead of when it otherwise would be completed without the initiative.

On Monday, the St. Louis-based National Corn Growers Association _ overseeing the partnership _ said the effort to map the maize genome "is gaining critical momentum," with researchers from 35 academic sites having accessed the database.

Jo Messing, director of the Waksman Institute and professor of molecular biology at Rutgers University said the database has roughly 1.8 million available sequence reads _ more than four times what was previously available publicly.

"There are only little pieces of gene sequences available in the public domain, and in the past it's been very difficult to find completed gene sequences. The private collection offers a lot of those missing pieces," Messing said.

Land-grant universities including the University of Illinois, Oregon State University, Kansas State University and the University of Minnesota have accessed the site, as have overseas institutions such as Oxford University, the Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences, the Danish Institute of Agriculture Sciences and Germany's University of Hamburg.

Last week, St. Louis-based Monsanto said it has teamed with a biotechnology company and the U.S. government in a bid to unlock the genetic code of soybeans, hoping to supply breeders with technology that makes the crop more resistant to disease and drought.

As part of that deal, Monsanto, Genaissance Pharmaceuticals Inc. and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's research arm seek to map DNA markers in soybeans, creating a detailed molecular genetic map. That information then will be freely available to U.S. soybean breeders and geneticists on federal databases and in scientific journals.

As part of the corn-genome partnership, donated data resides on a Web site developed and managed by the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, a nonprofit research site near Monsanto's headquarters.

Scientists looking to see the database have to register through the corn growers association, certifying that they are conducting noncommercial work and agreeing to provide license options for Monsanto, Pioneer and Ceres.

The companies will benefit from completion of the genome sequence at no additional cost, given that government agencies and academic institutions are footing the researchers' bills.

Researchers eventually will publish their findings in scientific journals, after the companies preview the work and consider options for non-exclusive licensing deals.

I'm glad you fixed the number of sequences! Otherwise, the article was saying that there were only 0.45 sequences available--and I know for a fact I found more corn sequences than that yesterday at Genbank, without even looking for them.

If I wanted, I could even be one of those eeeeevil people developing genetically modified organisms. I prefer working with mammalian systems, however, and save my genetic engineering skills for use in trying to dissect human cell function.

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